Lawyers​—Where Needed Most?

The United States, with just twice the population of Japan, reportedly has about 50 times as many lawyers. Why such a great difference? Delegates at a recent Washington lawyer’s conference observed that some of the work normally handled by lawyers in the United States is cared for, in Japan, by notaries, special mediators and other professionals. But “even after adjusting for these definitional differences, Japan still has far fewer lawyers than we do,” says The Wall Street Journal, “and, in particular, far less litigation. The Japanese have traditionally preferred to resolve disputes by informal mediation or negotiations. . . . Executives from squabbling companies prefer to work their problems out through personal trust and understanding.” The presence of such qualities in a non-Christian society, in contrast with their lack in a society that calls itself Christian, should provide much food for thought. How far the nations of Christendom have strayed from the principles taught by Jesus Christ!​—Matthew 5:25, 37, 40, 41; 1 Corinthians 6:1-8.

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U.S.A.

JAPAN